"Bring your own beverage"
Oliver Wood has changed. He is no longer the sweet innocent Scottie that we all grew to love. Here, Oliver has faced more than one hardships. Watch him as he struggles loosing battles with his mother, his best mate and the love of his life. Will anyone be able to help him? Warning for use of drugs, mild swearing and adult content. No sexual activity.
Disclaimer: The idea of the main characters parents were a creation of Hovizi of Oliver Wood, Katie Bell and all other Harry Potter characters and plots belong to J.K. Rowling and unfortunately… not me.
A/N: Sorry! It isn't a lot of Katie Bell and Hogwarts yet but I'm still setting up the scene and working out the hitches. Don't worry, there will be a lot more Katie/Oliver in the future. Tell me YOUR opinion. ;)
"OW! Dammit! Why the hell is this stupid piece of shit in the way! Can't a guy have a moment of piece just for one second? God dammit, I didn't know that life would be so difficult."
I sighed. What was the use? My ramblings are worthless. And no, they aren't million dollar works of art that will be shown to thousands in a matter of a few seconds. They are just me, directly after I ram my head into a random pointy pole pointing out from the wall.
I frowned and made my way to the other side of the house. I hadn't bothered to check my mother. I was running late and if I didn't get to the restaurant on time, then Higgens would have my throat, along with the rest of my paycheck. I wore the same clothes and only had to put on a black, collared shirt on. I grabbed my waist pack that held my money and book, the only other items left. Except one thing…
Our little home was a mess but that didn't bother me. As I tore around the flat, desperately looking for the correct item, also known as work shoes, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. I glanced around and noticed that one of my shoes was half hidden on the couch. With a cry of victory, I raced toward it, shoving it onto my foot. But where was the other one…
The old grandfather clock chimed from directly behind me. Let's just say that I had a mini-heart attack. I swore loudly at the old clock and made my to the door, quickly finding my other shoe hooked on the key holder. I grabbed my keys and left my flat, Apparating to the restaurant in fear of getting fired.
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I finally got off work after a treacherous five hours. Higgens must have been PMSing or something because he had promised me that I'd only have to work three today. Oh well, I thought to myself. The more money, the better.
I slowly climbed my way up to my flat and noticed that Dreyus' white door beside ours was wide open. I peered in, half-heartedly expecting Dreyus to be having another row with his mother, but instead was greeted with another sight.
The London police and local fire department were all located in Dreyus tiny flat. In the middle stood what had become of his mother, who was wearing a horribly pink frock and what looked to be hooker clothing while smoking a cigarette and a glass of booze in the other hand. Her hair was a mess, along with her makeup, and she was being interrogated by two police officers in blue.
Frantically, I searched the flat for Dreyus and breathed a breath of relief that I hadn't known I had been holding. Dreyus was alive and well and sitting on the couch. For a moment I thought that it was just another scuffle reported by the neighbors, but something felt off here. I welcomed myself in and made my way passed a few protesting officers.
Dreyus didn't look too happy. I also noticed that he had been cuffed and was being guarded by four officials. When I approached, my best mate stared up into my eyes with his sad, bloodshot eyes. He looked pale and almost ready to collapse if he hadn't been sitting down this whole time. He wore the same clothes from when I last saw him and I realized that he was supposed to be at work an hour ago. Had this been going on the whole time?
Apparently, I must have looked as though I needed to say something because he broke my gaze and was suddenly intensely interested in his vans. Confused, I tapped the officer in front of my on the soldier.
He turned around and I noticed that he hadn't been in the force for all that long. He had a long pointy nose but a wide face that didn't seem to fit. His hair was blonde and bowl-cut and he looked as though he took advantage of the whole doughnut theory.
"What do you want?" he snapped, his English accent rich and boastful.
"Well, I was wondering what was going on here," I asked him politely, inwardly grimacing as the man continued to look as if he owned the world.
"What do you think, boy? And why does it matter?" he asked grinning to his colleagues behind him. I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm his neighbor. What happened?" I asked a little more forcefully.
Giving me a look of annoyance, he sighed and repeated to me what he had memorized in stone. "I'm sorry sir," something I seriously doubted, "but the information that has been collected at this crime scene is private and is not aloud to be released into the public, but instead to be held for further investigation and thus be kept from prying little maggots, such as yourself."
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
I had to hold back a snort. This guy really thought he was all that, huh?
Wait, crime scene?
"Fine," I retorted, clearly frustrated. "I understand that you must keep your pride and your ego, so may I talk to him, please? He's one of my best mates."
The officer looked angry and was about to spit out an angry comment when the guard next to him scoff and interrupted him.
"Gawd, Rufus, just let the boy through. We have time," his rough voice said.
Given permission, I quickly sat down beside Dreyus where one of the officers had sat previously.
"Man, what did you do?" I asked concerned.
With his blotchy face and red nose, he told me in a voice I had never heard before, one that was cracked and hoarse and sounded as if he'd been crying for decades: "I killed him."
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The shock of my best friend killing a man and being sentenced to jail for longer than I could imagine wore off eventually. I had by now gotten used to the fact that I pretty much had no one left in my life. The only good part of this year would be that I was going to Hogwarts in exactly two weeks. I had decided that I needed to go Diagon Alley sometime this week to get the small things such as books and more robes.
That Sunday, about four days since Dreyus left me for good, I grabbed my keys and left out the door. Within seconds, I had appeared in the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. I quickly made my usual beeline towards Gringotts and walked out within a matter of minutes after I had exchange Muggle money for the Wizarding currency. I didn't have that much, but it was enough.
I quickly went to Flourish and Blott's and made my way to the second hand section knowing that even if I did have enough for a non-second hand book, that I do not have the money to spend on such items. Besides, I could always charm it to look a little bit better and an older book didn't bother me at all.
Madam Malkin's was next because I had obviously grown at least three inches over the past year. I would rather die than be declared popularly inadequate with my shortened, dorky looking robes. I snorted out loud. Actually, Nany forced me to get new ones.
Speaking of Nany, she decidedly taken a hold on my family once Dreyus had committed a crime. I had tried to shove money onto her but she wouldn't allow it. She had taken it into her power to live in our cramped flat—at least I got her to sleep on my bed instead of the couch—and take care of my mother twenty-four/seven. It wasn't as if I weren't grateful, just simply embarrassed. So as I did the errands and made the money, my mother was still being well taken care of.
The following week flew by with an intensity that could and probably was being controlled by some sort of magic. It was bizarre how I would get home from work, eat and go to bed in what seemed like the same hour but was truly an accumulation of four. It came upon me suddenly to realize that it was the morning and if I didn't hurry my little bum up then I'd be late for the Hogwarts Express, something I have gladly neglected for the past six years.
My old, worn-out clothes were on and I just finished packing the little nit-pick things into my trunk. I let my pitch-black owl Spinster fly ahead and meet me there, but I had yet to capture Dipstick and encase him. Nany was making last minute arrangements to put into my trunk and conjuring up a magnificent breakfast at the same time—which consisted of a small glass of orange juice, an apple, and a piece of toast. In a matter of seconds, breakfast was gone, my trunk was fully packed and I had all my other miscellaneous things finished. After bidding farewell to my dear mother, I gave Nany a peck on the cheek and then headed out the door.
Apparition was something that I still haven't gotten used to, I thought to myself as I loaded my trunk onto a cart. At this point, I didn't care whether or not Muggle had seen me randomly pop into their universe, because the train was bound to leave in a few minutes and remaining. With a sigh of relief, I looked up to the gleaming, scarlet engine and smiled for the first time since Dreyus' incident.
I boarded the engine with no worries and quickly found the compartment that I was looking for. It was like a breathe of fresh air to find the last, and the largest of all compartments filled with all of whom I had missed so much. My eyes first caught on Katie Bell, who happened to be the cutest best friend I had ever laid my eyes on. Her hair looked more dazzling than before and it was down and longer. She looked cute in a plain white top and short skirt reading what looked to be my favorite, Quidditch through the Ages.
Beside her sat Angelina Johnson who was nearly on top of Fred. I assumed that they hooked up over the summer. My suspicions were confirmed when they had immediately began snogging each other right there. They looked like they fit, especially because both were wearing jeans and strangely a matching blue top. Fred's hair had decided to be messy today, almost as if it was bed head, but Angelina's was nice and tucked back into a clip.
Across from them sat Alicia Spinnet and Fred's identical, George. They were doing the exact opposite of the previous couple and were engaged in an intense game of Exploding Snap. It looked as if Alicia's pink top and white skirt had already been slightly ruined from the smoke and George's eyebrows, which were now black, matched his shirt. They looked as they always did, with the dread-locked Lee Jordan watching them with amusement.
No one seemed to notice that I had entered so I decided to store my trunk in the overhead bin with ease. This caught their attention because I suddenly heard—
"OLLIE!" the screeching noise belonged to no one other than the hilarious Lee Jordan. "Doll! I've missed you all summer! Tst, how come you haven't been returning my owls? I've been worried sick!"
"Ols, we've missed you!" sang Alicia, her bright eyes shining.
"Yeah, don't worry," assured George. "We've already had a Quidditch practice. We're already ahead of you."
This earned him a slap from Alicia. "Don't tell him! Maybe he forgot?"
Angelina snorted. "Tough chance, How can he, the Oliver Wood, manage to forget about Quidditch? It's just not possible."
"I agree," said Fred, before turning his girlfriend's head and returning to their business.
The others laughed. "Wanna game?" Lee offered, referring to the board. I shook my head.
"No, thanks," I said. "I need to go the front of the train. I have a few things to do now."
With that I left the compartment.
"Ol, wait!" came a voice from behind, one that I knew all too well.
I smiled broadly as I saw Katie jogging up to me. As she neared, I grabbed her and enveloped her in a smothering hug. It had been such a long time since I had seen my Katie.
"Oliver," she said soberly, after I had set her down. "I need to talk to you."
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A/N: You know you want? Can you BETA? E-mail me or review saying you can! It would really help. Any other ideas for this story, I'm willing and open! Thanks a munch,
Emelie ;-)